Warm up your winter days
These books will get you through to spring.
Will winter ever end? Sure, it always does ... but while you’re craving warmer days (and hunkered down binge-watching while longing for spring), how about a good book as a respite from the winter doldrums? Here are five titles that offer a mental vacation — until you can take the real thing.
❚ Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Maybe you watched the completely addictive HBO series starring Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman. Now it’s time to get ready for Season 2 by reading the 2014 pulse-pounding mystery about suburban moms who are hiding some big secrets. Unlike the TV version, filmed in California amid Architectural Digest- worthy homes, the bestselling novel is set in Australia (Moriarty is an Aussie) — but it’s just as juicy.
❚ A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
Mayle, who died in January at age 78, was associated with the good life, and the Englishman inspired many an expatriate fantasy when he chucked the world of advertising for a quaint village in France. His witty 1990 account of life with his wife and dogs in a 200-year-old farmhouse — while enjoying the local cuisine — will have you dreaming of travel and escaping the daily grind.
❚ The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
Last year was a momentous one for the actress/comedian, particularly with her breakout performance in Girls Trip, which USA TODAY called “a breath of fresh air.” She also published her first book, a collection of essays drawn from her life. Haddish takes us on a very personal trip, from growing up poor and in foster care in South Central L.A. to making a name for herself in comedy. This inspiring memoir will have you crying, laughing and wishing she was your BFF.
❚ The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
One of the first big hits of 2018, this twisty psychological thriller in the Gone Girl/The Girl on the Train vein is tailormade for winter. It stars a shut-in named Anna Fox, an agoraphobic child psychologist/amateur photographer who stays busy mixing wine and pills (we slowly learn why). One day, through her window, she sees a murder in a neighbor’s Harlem townhouse, but can we trust this unreliable narrator? You’ll be zipping through the pages of this clever (if overheated) update of Hitchcock’s classic film Rear Window and rooting for Anna to get out of the house!
❚ The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
The last weeks of winter are a good time to take stock of what you have and shed what you don’t need. And we’re not just talking about winter weight gain. This de-cluttering guide by Japanese “tidying consultant” Marie Kondo will help you empty closets, organize drawers and get a head start on spring cleaning. You won’t be going it alone. Magic, which has a cult-like following, has hit No.1 on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list.